Nursing home medical directors, by federal regulation (Section 483.70 (h)), are responsible for coordinating the medical care of highly complex individuals who reside in these facilities. The recent...
Independence, and the freedom to make your own choices
By
Julie Thorson
Jul 03, 2024
Fireworks, grilling, time with friends and family. These are all hallmarks of a July 4 holiday weekend. As we started preparing for it, I started to think more about “independence” and what it means...
The beard is dead. Long live the beard.
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 11, 2024
Imagine you’re an elderly rehab patient, maybe trying to recover mobility after a stroke, and receiving treatment in a long-term care facility. Your therapist is a ferocious taskmaster, constantly...
A summer correlation, fireflies and the MDS
By
Joel VanEaton
Jul 09, 2024
This time of year, I love to sit on my back porch and watch the fireflies dance in the twilight. Something from my childhood, I suppose. This year they seem particularly bright. Almost like fireworks...
What nursing homes need, versus what they get
By
Stephen A. Moses
Jul 08, 2024
Senior living’s caregiving sectors — nursing homes, assisted living and home care — share problems and needs in varying degrees. But what they get from long-term care (LTC) research is seldom what...
Jargon in – Jargon OUT
By
Martie Moore
Jul 01, 2024
The other day, I witnessed someone looking for a “thingamajig” in a hardware store. It was amusing as the individual was describing a screw with a flat top named after a city. Their partner...
Workforce crisis in LTC: Is it a recruitment problem or a leadership problem?
By
Dana Weaver
Jun 28, 2024
Stop me if you have heard this one before. Senior care is suffering an unprecedented staffing crisis, and it’s not getting better no matter what leadership tries… Yes, you have heard this...
Aphasia awareness: Promoting an abilities-based approach to stroke rehabilitation
By
Renee Kinder
Jun 20, 2024
June marks Aphasia Awareness Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness about aphasia, a language disorder that affects communication abilities following brain damage, often due to stroke. Aphasia...
Don’t buy green bananas
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 27, 2024
I just bought a house. Yes, at this age. A common admonition to those on intimate terms with aging and mortality is to avoid buying green bananas. Well, I chose to laugh in the face of that bit of...
Pretending to care about caregivers
By
Brendan Williams
Jun 26, 2024
As part of his undeclared candidacy to be California’s next governor, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra paid a pandering visit in April to the Los Angeles headquarters of an SEIU...